Byron Nelson dies aged 94

Byron Nelson, one of golf's legends, died at the age of 94 in Texas yesterday.

Nelson, who won five majors during his career, is best known for winning 18 tour titles (11 of them in succession) in 1945. His stroke average of 68.33 for the that season remains a record.

Between 1944 and 1945, Nelson won 31 of the 54 tournaments he contested. He amassed a total of 52 PGA Tour titles before retiring in 1946 at the age of 34.

Those 52 Tour wins - a record equalled by Tiger Woods this year - place him joint fifth on the all-time list behind Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer.

Nelson won the US Masters in 1937 and 1942, the US Open in 1939 and the USPGA Championship in 1940 and 1945.

He also finished second once in the US Open, twice in the Masters and three times in the USPGA.

He contested the British Open twice, finishing fifth in 1937. His second British Open came in 1955 when he was no longer a serious competitor, although he managed to win the French Open on the same trip.

Nelson was born on February 4th, 1912, on the family farm in Texas and began caddying at the age of 10 at Glen Garden Country Club in Fort Worth.

He once won the club's caddiess title by defeating Hogan - also destined for great things - in a play-off.

Nelson turned professional in 1932 and is considered by many golf historians to have given the game the first "modern" swing.

According to the World Golf Hall of Fame: "Coming of age just as the steel shaft was replacing hickory, Nelson learned that using the big muscles in the hips and legs could be a more reliable, powerful, and effective way to hit a golf ball than the more wristy method that had been employed in the era of hickory.

"Nelson was particularly noteworthy for the way his swing was more upright and along the target line, employing a full shoulder turn with restricted wrist cock, and for the way he kept his knees flexed in the downswing."

In 1968 the Dallas stop on the PGA Tour was renamed the Byron Nelson Classic and is now played as the Byron Nelson Championship.

Nelson's death was confirmed by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office in Dallas.

No further details of his death were given.